Time ticks for Noy EDITORIAL 05/29/2011

Time ticks for Noy

EDITORIAL

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05/29/2011
The German government issued a loaded statement the other day when it said a fair and swift resolution of the airport terminal project is encouraged for foreign investors to even consider projects under Noynoy’s private-public partnership (PPP) scheme.

The statement mentioned “the international business community” instead of investors in Germany to indicate that a likely consensus was arrived at on the terminal issue. The German Embassy, while saying no comment on the recent court ruling awarding what the investors in the terminal project had considered a token amount, the timing of the communique was hard to miss.

The statement reads that a fair and swift solution would be an encouraging signal for the international business community to engage in long-term investments such as the PPP..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110529com1.html

Shoot first, ask questions later FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/29/2011

Shoot first, ask questions later

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

05/29/2011
Without even checking things out, and on the basis of a news report, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo quickly sacked the warden of the Camp Bagong Diwa on allegations that Andal Ampatuan Sr., the patriach of the clan, was “freely roaming” in that prison.

It turns out that the photo published, which was provided by Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, Ampatuan’s political foe, was at least a year old.

This is the same Mangudadatu who also says that Ampatuan has an air-conditioned room, plus a cellfone.

It was Robredo who clarified, after his talk with Mangudadatu, that the photo of Ampatuan is an old one..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110529com2.html

Radiation fears surround France’s old uranium mines focus 05/29/2011

Radiation fears surround France’s old uranium mines

focus

05/29/2011
ROSGLAS — It looks like any other another leafy woodland path in Brittany, but campaigners say ramblers on this particular trail may face levels of radiation at least 10 times higher than normal.

The path runs alongside a disused uranium mine in the hamlet of Rosglas, one of over 200 suspect sites dotted across France, this one marked with just a makeshift sign drawn up by local anti-nuclear campaigners.

When the leaders of the world’s most powerful developed economies meet this week at the G8 summit to discuss the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima reactor disaster, France will urge them to keep faith with nuclear power.

Some three-quarters of France’s domestic power comes from nuclear plants, and the country is keen to export its expertise in the form of modern third generation EPR reactors — which it insists are safe..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110529com3.html

Farcical ‘one-China’ policy BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/29/2011

Farcical ‘one-China’ policy

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

05/29/2011
It is the classic case of “while the cat is away, the mice will play” in real life.

A thoroughly disgusted and disappointed Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has gone to court seeking relief from the implementation of an ordinance granting overly-generous tax breaks to the multi-billion cellular telephone firm Smart Telecommunications.

Declared respondents in the suit filed recently before the Manila Regional Trial Court were Manila Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso as well as several members of the City Council who had passed Ordinance No. 8229 exempting Smart from paying franchise and real property taxes on its telecommunications equipment in cell sites situated within city boundaries..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110529com4.html

‘Two children policy’ VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/29/2011

‘Two children policy’

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

05/29/2011
Malacañang is bent on doing away with poverty in the country. Good! It has prepared a legislative vehicle for the purpose. Great! It is ready to spend billions to accomplish its design to propel the economic development of the country. Bravo!

How? Plain and simple! Do not allow babies to be born. Do not allow wives to become mothers. Do not allow husbands to be fathers. Get rid of people for the lesser they are, the better. The food on the table is not enough to feed the children around it. Solution: Lessen the children instead of making the food more. The houses available are few and/or small to accommodate families. Solution: Make the families smaller or fewer instead of multiplying and/or enlarging houses..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110529com5.html

De Lima wants malverse raps filed vs ex-DoJ chief By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/29/2011

RAUL GONZALEZ NOW ACCUSED, INSTEAD OF ACCUSER

De Lima wants malverse raps filed vs ex-DoJ chief

By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/29/2011
Where once he had the power to have charges filed against perceived political foes of the regime, today, former Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez stands accused in a malversation complaint filed against him before the DoJ that appears to also be going after the Noynoy administration’s political foes.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has assigned a new prosecutor to handle a pending case against her predecessor in the agency.

In Department Order No. 263, De Lima said that “in the interest of public service, Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Liwayway Nazal is designated as acting provincial prosecutor of Zambales to conduct the preliminary investigation” of Gonzalez.

The case, docketed as NPS III-019-INV-10K-00669 involves malversation of
public property..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110529hed1.html

Church has heavy exposure in MVP’s mining company By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/29/2011

Church has heavy exposure in MVP’s mining company

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/29/2011
The Catholic Church which has been active in the local anti-mining movement supposedly championing the cause of indigenous people and environmental groups that protest against the destructive effects of mining operations appear to be benefitting themselves from interests in Philex Mining Corp. (Philex) which is controlled by the group of businessman Manuel Pangilinan.

Documents provided The Tribune showed that various religious groups, including The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, belong to the top 100 stockholders of Philex Mining.

The other Catholic groups shown in the documents to have a substantial stake in the mining firm included The Religious of the Virgin Mary and The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Zamboanga..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110529hed2.html

Solon wants to grant franchises to build airports in rural areas By Charlie V. Manalo 05/29/2011

Solon wants to grant franchises to build airports in rural areas

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/29/2011

A lawmaker has filed a bill granting airline franchisees the right to develop airports in rural areas in the country.
Valenzuela Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo, author of House Bill 3775, said the proposal will provide a way to develop rural airports through the help of the private sector.

“Our country sorely needs dependable transport systems to make economically convenient and affordable access to and from rural areas. For commerce of any national importance to take any meaningful presence in a community, options of transport services must be made available to allow the use of the kind of service commensurate to the nature of the requirement,” Gunigundo said.

Gunigundo said many airline companies can now expand their missionary routes by allowing them to invest in the construction and development of airport facilities in rural areas..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110529nat1.html

Angara backs creation of Algae R & D hub By Ted Boehnert 05/29/2011

Angara backs creation of Algae R & D hub

By Ted Boehnert 05/29/2011
Sen. Edgardo Angara is backing the establishment of a Philippine Algae Research Center, which is envisioned to harness the potential of algae in the lucrative fields of nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmeceuticals and animal feeds.

Angara, chairman of the congressional commission on Science Technology and engineering (Comste), said that the best way for the country to develop the industry would be through public-private partnerships (PPP). This would allow the private sector to focus leverage its industrial research, as well as academic research, to develop viable commercial products.

Angara said that Comste partners from Alson’s Aquaculture and the Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC) are collaborating on a PPP that looks into the commercial uses of algae, including its use as a biofuel..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110529nat5.html

Noynoy’s decision on giving special treatment to inmates out next week By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/29/2011

Noynoy’s decision on giving special treatment to inmates out next week

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/29/2011

President Aquino said he will come up with a decision on the issue of special privileges being accorded to high-profile prisoners inside their detention cells by the middle of next week upon receipt of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s report.

Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte tried to back her principal’s statement yesterday by reiterating the Department of Justice (DoJ) is already on the final stages of its report on the unauthorized vacation taken by former Batangas Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste from the New Bilibid Prisons while serving his jail sentence for homicide.

Valte said this is separate from the alleged special treatment being given by jail authorities to former Maguindanao Andal Ampatuan Sr., primary suspect in the 2009 mass execution of journalists and other civilians, inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City which cropped up only recently..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110529met1.html

Cervical cancer vaccine pioneer visits mobile clinic in Muntinlupa City M E T R O F I L E 05/29/2011

Cervical cancer vaccine pioneer visits mobile clinic in Muntinlupa City

M E T R O F I L E

05/29/2011
Australian scientist and cervical cancer vaccine pioneer Prof. Ian Frazer (second from right) visited Muntinlupa City recently to observe the mobile clinic offering free cervical cancer screening to local residents. Organized by the city government, Department of Health (DoH), Cervical Cancer Prevention Network Program (Cecap) and the Cancer Institute Foundation, the free clinic provides local women with hospital-grade screening service for the early detection of cervical cancer..... MORE
Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110529met7.html

Useless prison revamp 05/28/2011

Useless prison revamp

05/28/2011
If anything should be revamped in the prison system, it should be the way the system treats prisoners, which is almost inhuman, as prisoners are all expected to suffer in crowded cells, stinking bathrooms and virtually being fed with canine food.

Instead of having a rehabilitative penal system, what this country insists on is to even have a stricter punitive penal system, which is, in all probability, the reason prisoners who have the means to get themselves better prison lodgings and better food, get for themselves these “perks” and the reason too that corruption becomes even more intense.

Our jails are overcrowded, and yet there has been no move on the part of government, the executive and the legislative departments, along with the judiciary, past and present, to improve living conditions in jails, whether in Bilibid or in city jails, or provincial jails, for that matter.

What is wrong with giving convicts, and especially detainees in city jails, house arrests with electronic monitoring bracelets, for authorities to check on their whereabouts? Such a system would certainly help decongest jails..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110528com1.html

Indecisive must be his name FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/28/2011

Indecisive must be his name

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

05/28/2011
It has been some three weeks, if not a month, since Noynoy announced that he will be appointing losing vice presidential bet Mar Roxas as his chief of staff, and that an Administrative Order (AO), is being drafted to clarify the functions of Roxas as his chief of staff and the functions of his Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.

Yesterday, while in Thailand on an official visit, Noynoy told reporters that he and his officials are still in the process of drafting the AO to detail the responsibilities of Roxas, adding that he wants Roxas to handle some political and internal management concerns, such as the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), along with other assignments Noynoy may be giving Mar from time to time.

He was quoted as saying that before finalizing the executive order for Roxas’ appointment, they will meet together with Ochoa to discuss the separation of functions and responsibilities.

Does it take that long for Noynoy to decide just what duties Mar is to be given, which is why to this date, there has been no AO from Malacañang?.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110528com2.html

As world hesitates, China stands firm on dissent focus 05/28/2011

As world hesitates, China stands firm on dissent

focus

05/28/2011
BEIJING — The international community’s mixed response to China’s crackdown on dissent — ranging from public criticism to total silence — has handed Beijing leeway to maintain its hardline, experts say.

Since Chinese authorities, apparently spooked by the pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Middle East, began detaining lawyers, artists and other activists in February, a parade of Western leaders have met with Beijing’s top brass.

Some have slammed China over the clampdown — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this month called it a “fool’s errand.”

Others like Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who visited Beijing last month, have avoided making criticism in public..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110528com3.html

Fishing for bigger profits: Norwegian firm accused of pulling a fast one on its workers

Fishing for bigger profits: Norwegian firm accused of pulling a fast one on its workers

 “What is happening in Mustad is a textbook case of illegal closure…of capitalists drastically undertaking illegal and anti-worker measures because they are confident the Aquino government won’t lift a finger to harm them,” said Leandro “Ka Doods” Gerodias, KMU deputy secretary-general and president of the Alliance of Democratic Labor Organizations (ADLO).
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – After 23 years of profitable operations in the Philippines, Norwegian firm Mustad, maker of “the best-selling hook-brand in the planet,” moved out some of its equipment from its factory in Quezon City on May 17. On May 24, it broke the news to its 200 workers that they were being terminated because the factory was shutting down operations. Mustad reportedly cited losses but the workers are disputing it.

“What is happening in Mustad is a textbook case of illegal closure. It is also a textbook case of capitalists drastically undertaking illegal and anti-worker measures because they are confident that the Aquino government won’t lift a finger to harm them,” said Leandro “Ka Doods” Gerodias, KMU deputy secretary-general and president of the Alliance of Democratic Labor Organizations (ADLO).

One of the three unions of workers in Mustad is an affiliate of ADLO-KMU.

(Contributed photo / bulatlat.com)

The said textbook case has also been commonly referred to as “runaway shop,” where a profitable company shuts down operations in one location only to reopen or continue operations in another location, with new, lower-paid and non-unionized employees.

Shutting down factories with unionized workforce has been a “common tactic used by capitalists in order to save on costs,” said Armand Hernando, documentation coordinator of non-government Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR). In documenting numerous similar cases, CTUHR found that “most companies that claim to have gone bankrupt actually just cease operations for a while and reopen with a new set of employees that are contractual and non-unionized. This definitely cuts costs and brings greater profits for the company.”

Mustad Terminal Tackle Philippines is a subsidiary of Mustad Norway that produces fishing hooks, rigs, flies among other metal fishing equipment for export. Prior to the sudden shutdown, most of its workers reportedly suffer from various degrees of heavy metal poisoning, as handling toxic chemicals was routine in their job..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/27/fishing-for-bigger-profits-norwegian-firm-accused-of-pulling-a-fast-one-on-its-workers/

Peace mission in Davao reveals rights, humanitarian law violations under Oplan Bayanihan

Peace mission in Davao reveals rights, humanitarian law violations under Oplan Bayanihan
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
Sidebar: Resistance to mining exploration gave rise to rights violations
 
“The killings of Rudy and his son Rudyric Dejos in Sta. Cruz and of Santos Manrique in Pantukan brought into the limelight the real face of Oplan Bayanihan and revealed what was concealed in the peace and development coating of the Aquino administration’s continuation of the wicked legacy of past counterinsurgency programs,” the mission said in a statement.
By RONALYN V. OLEA

MANILA — The Aquino administration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines claim that its new counterinsurgency program dubbed as Oplan Bayanihan is fundamentally different from the previous Arroyo administration’s bloody counterinsurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya. But the results of a recently-concluded peace mission in the Davao region revealed otherwise.

Duyog sa Panaw, a 73-member National Interfaith Peace and Mercy Mission led by Exodus for Justice and Peace (EJP), documented violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) by state agents victimizing more than 3,664 individuals in a span of only three months.

Participants to the mission visited Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur and Pantukan, Compostela Valley from May 21 to 23.

Bishop Modesto Villasanta, EJP convener, said violations documented ranged from extrajudicial killing, harassment, attack or use of public places for military purposes, illegal checkpoint, and land-grabbing of ancestral lands of indigenous peoples, and disrespect for indigenous traditional leadership and cultural rights.
“The killings of Rudy and his son Rudyric Dejos in Sta. Cruz and of Santos Manrique in Pantukan brought into the limelight the real face of Oplan Bayanihan and revealed what was concealed in the peace and development coating of the Aquino administration’s continuation of the wicked legacy of past counterinsurgency programs,” the mission said in a statement.

Father and son Dejos were found dead with gunshot and stab wounds inside their house on February 27. Manrique was shot dead by four unidentified armed men riding on motorcycles on April 12.

According to a testimony of one of the residents interviewed by the mission, Rudy, who actively campaigned against the military’s Barangay Defense System (BDS), received death threats from soldiers of the 39th IB. The testimony also revealed there are two witnesses who saw how the soldiers killed the Dejoses.
Based on the mission’s investigation, Manrique had also received death threats through text messages. In March this year, Manrique was held and harassed by elements of the 1001st Brigade in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley on his way home after meeting fellow small-scale miners.

In Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, the mission recorded 26 cases of human rights violations with 851 victims. The mission found out that elements of the 39th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) violated the international humanitarian law prohibiting the use of schools, medical, religious and other public places or facilities for military purposes.

The 39th IB also violated the rights of 22 individuals by coercing them to join the Barangay Defense System (BDS), the mission reported. The mission also said that soldiers of the 39th IB warned residents against joining rallies and progressive organizations.

The situation seemed no different in Pantukan, Compostela Valley. The mission reported that elements of the 71st IB violated IHL for using public places and facilities for military operations, affecting 480 individuals and 80 families.

The mission deemed that large-scale foreign mining interests resulted in violations of the IHL and the human rights of small-scale miners and their families of Gumayan, Brgy. Kingking. Americna firm Russel Mining and Minerals, Inc. is operating in the area..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/27/peace-mission-in-davao-reveals-rights-humanitarian-law-violations-under-oplan-bayanihan/

Aquino government neglects country’s tertiary education; tuition hikes reach up to 103 percent in the NCR

Aquino government neglects country’s tertiary education; tuition hikes reach up to 103 percent in the NCR

According to the study made by the NUSP, since 2001, the national average tuition rate per unit increased by 94.72 percent. From the average of P257.41 per unit in A.Y. 2001-2002, the average tuition rate almost doubled to P501.22 for A.Y. 2010-2011. Meanwhile, in the National Capital Region where most universities and colleges are located, average tuition rate increased by 102.7 percent.

by INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
So what if the country’s universities are among the top in Asia? The government still neglects these institutions by commercializing education and making it less and less accessible to the poor majority of Filipinos.
This was the assertion of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino in reaction to a recently released report on the Top 200 Asian Universities for 2011.

“Majority of the top Asian schools, including the leading Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are state universities substantially funded and supported by their respective governments. This appreciation for tertiary education by other Asian governments are blatantly in contrast with the education policies of the Aquino administration. In our country, state universities and Colleges (SUCs) are institutions of destitution,” Palatino said.

Students led by Kabataan Party-List and the National Union of Students of the Philippines say that the Commission on Higher Education continues to fail in its role to ensure accessible and quality tertiary education in the country. They said the CHED has reneged on its promise made last year that there will be no tuition and other fee increases in state universities and colleges (SUCs) but, many SUCs have already jacked their fees this coming enrollment period. (Photo courtesy of NUSP / bulatlat.com)

In the ranking of career and education network QS, the University of the Philippines placed number one in the country and ranked number 62 in Asia. The Ateneo de Manila University was ranked 68; University of Santo Tomas, no. 104; De La Salle University, no. 107.

In the meantime, eleven universities occupied the same report’s 201+ ranking in Asia. These schools were Mindanao State University, Xavier University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Silliman University, Father Saturnino Urios College, Mapua Institute of Technology, Adamson University, Saint Louis University, Central Mindanao University, University of San Carlos, and University of Southeastern Philippines.

The Philippines has 2,180 colleges and universities only 112 of which are SUCs. Palatino noted that the Philippines is dominated by private schools.

“It is alarming that our SUCs are increasingly pressured by the government to function as private schools. The country’s premier university, UP, receives insufficient funds from the government. Thus, it is forced to raise tuition fees to cover the shortage of funds. Tuition in the university now costs as much as P1000-P1,500 (US$23.25-US$34.88) per unit. That translates to P18,000 (US$419) per semester, but this still excludes miscellaneous fees,” Palatino said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com


URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/27/aquino-government-neglects-countrys-tertiary-education-tuition-hikes-reach-up-to-103-percent-in-the-ncr/

‘NFA guilty of legalized smuggling’ – farmers, NFA employees

‘NFA guilty of legalized smuggling’ – farmers, NFA employees

As of five days ago, the NFA awarded to the private sector the rights to import 660,000 metric tons out of the 860,000 metric tons of rice to be imported for the year, this despite news reports of sacks of rice rotting in NFA warehouses. And rice traders who import the rice would even be exempted from paying taxes.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
Who’s not surprised that there’s rice smuggling in the National Food Authority (NFA)? The employees of the NFA and the rice price monitoring group Bantay Bigas, that’s who.

According to Bantay Bigas, the rice smuggling at the NFA is actually “legalized practice,” and that the privatization of the food agency is to blame.

Roman Sanchez, President of the NFA Employees Association (NFA-EA) and member of Bantay Bigas, said that the privatization of the NFA has made the agency more prone to corruption. He said that because of the private sector-financed importation (PSF) policy , rice smuggling has become legal. The group calls the PSF smuggling because commercial traders are allowed to import rice without paying taxes.

“Rice traders connive with corrupt NFA officials,” he said.

Earlier last week, media was furnished with a copy of the audit report prepared by a three-member team hired by the NFA. The reports said that the implementation of the PSF importation from 2008 to 2010 resulted in massive losses for the government. It said that from 2008 to 2010, the NFA allowed commercial rice traders to import a total of 1.4 million metric tons (MT). The NFA also asked the Fiscal Incentives Regulatory Board, on behalf of the traders, a tax exemption worth P20 billion (US$46,511 million).

Bantay Bigas has launched “Brigada Kaldero”, a series of protest actions against continued increases in the prices of rice and other food items, as well as oil products. The group said that farmers don’t need dole-outs and demand that the government implement the National Food Authority’s mandate to ensure the country’s food security.(Photo courtesy of Bantay Bigas / bulatlat.com)

Under the PSF scheme rice traders are allowed to import rice duty and tax free. If they deliver earlier than the agreed upon schedule, the NFA even gives rice traders rebates. The traders then sells the rice they import to the public but with permits and licenses from the NFA. And they get to keep their profits from the sale. This is supposedly part of the government’s “commitment to develop the marketing and entrepreneurial capabilities of the private sector, primarily the farmer organizations.” However, only rice traders have the capital to finance rice importation.

The NFA union and Bantay Bigas said that there was nothing surprising about these findings and that there was nothing new about it at all. Based on Bantay Bigas estimates, smuggled rice comprises 15 to 21 percent of the country’s total rice imports. The group said that because of smuggling, Filipino farmers are denied remunerative income from their produce..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/25/nfa-guilty-of-legalized-smuggling-farmers-nfa-employees/

Kin of victims of Maguindanao massacre fear that the Ampatuans have same privileges as Leviste

Kin of victims of Maguindanao massacre fear that the Ampatuans have same privileges as Leviste

Mrs. Editha Tiamzon, wife of Daniel Tiamzon of UNTV who was killed in the massacre, appealed to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo to allow them to visit the Ampatuans in jail.


By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – When news broke out that former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste went in and out of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) at will, relatives of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre could not help but feel uneasy. They reiterated their call to be allowed to check if the Ampatuans are still in jail.

Former Batangas Governor Leviste was arrested by authorities May 18 after leaving the NBP premises. He is sentenced to six to 12 years of imprisonment after he was convicted with homicide for the killing of his long-time aide, Rafael de las Alas, in 2007 inside his office in LPL Tower in Legaspi Village, Makati City?
Editha Tiamzon, wife of UNTV’s Daniel Tiamzon, related that she and other families of victims went to Camp Bagong Diwa in January to check if the Ampatuans are still there. “We only wanted to ensure that they are still there but we were made to wait for one hour and were never allowed to enter the premises,” Mrs. Tiamzon said during the Monday’s event to commemorate the massacre on November 23, 2009 that claimed the lives of 58 individuals, including 32 journalists.?

Editha Tiamzon, widow of one of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre, calls for justice for her husband Daniel.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“That is what we fear now. Ex-governor Leviste was able to go in and out of prison because he is moneyed, so is our enemy. When we went to check if the Ampatuans are still in prison, the BJMP told us that they were asleep during the day. Why is that so? It raises suspicions that maybe they are being allowed to go out at night that is why they are asleep during the day,” Mrs. Tiamzon said.

Mrs. Tiamzon appealed to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo to allow them to visit the Ampatuans in jail. “We will not hurt them. We have already forgiven them but we still want justice to be served,” Mrs. Tiamzon said.

Alwyn Alburo, vice chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), said that they are awaiting President Benigno S. Aquino III’s promise to put a closed circuit television [CCTV] in the detention cells of the Ampatuans.
Out of 196 suspects in the Ampatuan massacre, only 90 have been arrested. Only a few has been arraigned and only one case is undergoing trial.

Contempt
 
Mrs. Tiamzon also expressed sadness over the contempt charges against Monette Salaysay, widow of? Ampatuan massacre victim Napoleon Salaysay.

“We have no money to pay newspapers, radio and television networks to express what we feel. It is only in the streets where we can shout how we feel about what is happening. But what happened to one of us? She was charged with contempt,” Mrs. Tiamzon said.

A special division of the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a resolution April 12 charging Salaysay and Rowena Paraan, NUJP secretary general, of contempt.??The five justices of the CA who issued the resolution accused Salaysay and “foisting bias and corruption” against the court for their statements quoted in a news article where they expressed concerns on the?slow pace of the case.??“She [Salaysay] is one of those who spoke bravely but now she feels depressed because of the contempt charge,” Mrs. Tiamzon said.

Live coverage
 
Meanwhile, Karry Sison of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) said there has been no action yet regarding the petition filed before the Supreme Court for live media coverage of the Ampatuan massacre trial.
Families filed the petition in November last year. The defense has filed its comment and the PILC in turn has filed its reply in January, according to Sison.

Lawyer Karry Sison says live media coverage is instrumental for the public not to forget the Ampatuan massacre.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“Live media coverage is instrumental for the public not to forget [about the massacre],” Sison said, stressing that the petition asserts the freedom of the press not only for media but for the Filipino people in general.
“Alongside freedom of the press is the people’s right to information,” Sison said. “The people also have the right to a fair and public trial.”
Sison added that most of the families of the victims live outside Metro Manila. “Their situation prevents them from attending the hearings.”

In his speech, Luis Teodoro, deputy executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, encouraged the media to continue its coverage of the trial and of other aspects related to the massacre such as the dismantling of private armies..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/24/relatives-of-victims-of-maguindanao-massacre-fear-that-the-ampatuans-have-same-privileges-as-leviste/

Foreign investors want ‘fair, swift resolution’ of NAIA 3—German gov’t By Michaela P. del Callar 05/28/2011

CALL FOR‘NEGOTIATED’ PIATCO SETTLEMENT

Foreign investors want ‘fair, swift resolution’ of NAIA 3—German gov’t

By Michaela P. del Callar 05/28/2011

It was a diplomatic statement from the German government in Manila, but it was clear it was not happy with the Pasay City Regional Trial Court judge’s decision on the “just compensation” awarded to the Philippine International Airport Terminal Corp. which was merely a fifth of what Piatco was seeking from the Aquino government as payment for its having expropriated the air terminal.

The German government said foreign investors would want to see a fair and swift resolution of a decade-old terminal investment row involving a German company and its Filipino partner before investing in President Aquino’s much-touted public-private partnership for country-wide infrastructure development.

At the same time, Germany declined to comment on a recent local court decision awarding $175.757 million in just compensation to Piatco, the consortium with local partner of German airport builder Fraport, for the expropriation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA Terminal 3 but called for negotiations to break the legal deadlock..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110528hed1.html